Hi All,
In response to Ben's request:
"I have volunteered at my church to teach a Wednesday Night class on how to
bake bread. I plan to introduce people to the baking process using a
different recipe every week which highlights a different method or
ingredients. I also plan to highlight biblical usage of bread. This may be
slightly off-topic (if so, forgive me), but I was wondering if anyone had
read any cookbooks (or regular books) which talked about bread in the
Bible. I have read Biblical Garden Cooking (or something like that), but
most of the rest of my ideas are just from my own study of the Bible.
Anyone have suggestions? Or suggestions about anything else with the class?
Thanks".
I, too, volunteered to teach bread baking classes as a fundraiser for my
congregation. In fact, the last class in the series of three on Challah
("The Ultimate Challah", Two Whole Wheat Challahs and Flavorful Challah)
will be held tomorrow.
There are many biblical or religious references to why certain challah
ingredients are customary as well as the symbolism of the various shapes of
challah. The practice of the "taking of the challah" in order to make it
kosher is also an interesting process. Look up challah in your bread baking
books. Take out some Jewish cookbooks from the library. There is also a
book (can't remember the title, but someone on the list will know) about
the history of bread. Look up challah or the history of bread on the
internet and you will find much that will be of interest to you and your class.
After two successful (beginners luck ;-) classes, I feel that I can pass
along how I constructed them. It was a lot of work and I have a new found
respect for all the great cooking teachers who have made it all look easy.
For written material, I composed a general handout and a specific one for
each class. The general handout contained the history, symbolism, customs
and blessing associated with challah. I also included a bread "glossary"
giving info on the primary ingredients, the usual stages and required
techniques of bread making/baking. I also gave resources including
recommended books and websites. The specific handouts contained the recipes
we would use plus a "bonus" recipe such as a savory challah bread stuffing.
For the classes themselves, my goal was to complete the class in 3 hours. I
wanted students to see the dough and finished product in all its stages. I
wanted them to be able to look, smell, taste and touch. To accomplish this,
I had to run the class "out of order". I first baked the bread. This loaf
(or loaves) was brought to class so students could see the finished
product. After class, or when there was a lull, we tasted this loaf (or
loaves). I prepared a dough the day before the class and kept it in the
refrigerator. This dough was brought to room temp by the time I started the
class. I shaped the dough for the students to see and then it was allowed
to rise. I then started making the dough once again (#3 if you are
counting) so the class could see how to mix and knead it. The first class
had one dough done by hand. The second and third classes have two different
doughs with one made in a mixer and one made in a bread machine. By the
time these doughs were kneaded and ready to rise, the ones I had made the
day before were ready to bake. The breads came out of the oven as the class
was reaching the 3 hour mark. I took the last dough made (#3) home and
played with it i.e. mini challahs, challah rolls with semi sweet chocolate
middles, whole wheat challah herbed foccacia and white whole wheat pizza.
What fun!
I hope that these tips will help you and that I haven't bored anyone on the
list. I love attending cooking classes, but have now experienced being
student and teacher.
Always learning, always wondering, always a "bread baker's apprentice",
Ellen aka Gormay